A solo coastal trip that included naked swims in water holes, ice baths, surfing and breath work gave Harry Garside an ideal opportunity to revitalise after a year that left him "really struggling".
After locking in a ticket for his second Olympic campaign through a series of fights in the Solomon Islands, the Australian boxing sensation set off in a motorhome up the east coast of Australia just before Christmas.
For some 30 days midway through the year, the 26-year-old was burdened by a domestic violence charge, having been accused of assault by his ex-girlfriend. He strenuously denied the allegation and put forward recordings and communications. On June 7 the charge was dropped.
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Six months later, a road trip that took the Sydney-based star to Crescent Head, Byron Bay, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and many other blissful destinations was just what the deep-thinking, cross-dressing, poetry-loving boxer needed.
"I feel like this year was a year where I turned into a man," Garside told Wide World of Sports after making a stop just north of Coffs Harbour.
"You look at a lot of the ancient cultures and they do the really ceremonial, coming-of-age type moment. The [Australian] Indigenous culture have walkabout where they go off with their uncles, and so many ancient cultures have that moment where young people can really step into the essence as an adult, and I don't really feel like I had that personally.
"Obviously what I've done in my sporting career is massive, but I think what I went through this year was a moment for myself where I had to become a man and have my own back and really be integral to how I attacked that whole situation, because there was a little boy inside of me that was really sad and really upset and really struggling. I really had to take care of that. I had that little boy inside and I guess I'm so grateful that that situation happened.
"I've been thinking about it a bit on this trip, I've been thinking about it way too much, as I always do. I think it [the trip] was exactly what I needed."
Garside claimed bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and is hoping to become the first Australian boxer to win Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
The lightweight star ventured into professional boxing between his Olympic campaigns, stepping into the ring three times and winning on every occasion.
His road trip gave him a chance to decompress before returning to Sydney's eastern suburbs and monstering another gruelling training program.
"We're all very civilised animals now, but I just try to get back to the primal nature of what we are," Garside explained.
"I always float between the left, super spiritual, flowy side of being a human and … the right, structured, scientific [side]. I think I float naturally between the two a lot in my life and I find myself being very complex and I feel like every human is. It's just a lot of people don't give themselves the opportunity to explore that. To do stuff like this where I'm in that flow and spirituality and doing weird stuff like swimming naked in a water hole, and then also going back to Sydney next year and being super structured and disciplined and doing my recovery to make sure my body is in a great position to compete — I really like to flow between those two things."
Garside found time in his adventure to take up a commentary gig, joining the Fox Sports panel for No Limit Boxing's fight night at The Star casino in Sydney last week.
He unexpectedly became the centre of attention when a younger boxer he defeated in August fired up at him, leading to Garside copping an onslaught of boos.
The words were spicy and the reception fierce, but there was no chance of Garside being rattled.
"Some really big moments happened this year for myself and to get away after qualifying [for Paris 2024] and just reconnect to nature and see some people when I wanted to see some people, spend some time alone when I wanted to spend some time alone, surf … It's been a lot of fun and I think exactly what my soul needed," he said.
"I feel really connected to myself and I can't wait to wake up on New Year's Day and just know that it's 2024 and it's almost time for Paris."
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